Ferreting out some fun

If allowed, Nikolai can trash a cabinet in seconds.

I came to ferret-keeping late in life. Until my mid—or even late—30s, I’d never actually seen or held one. They weren’t common pets around Rochester, NY, where I grew up.

Truth be told, they still aren’t particularly common. In fact, a handful of states actually outlaw them as pets. They do not show affection in the same way dogs or even cats do. But they have a perky charm all their own.

Some call ferrets perpetual kittens. Their energy and playfulness certainly support this assertion. Your average ferret enjoys nothing more than a new fluffy or jingly thing to attack, a new furnishing to climb or a box or tube to crawl into and investigate. If you haven’t seen video of the ferret war dance, searching on that phrase will come up with dozens of examples.

The first ferrets I saw had medium-dark coloration— dark enough to show the bandit-like maks on their faces. Their apparent bonelessness as they draped or climbed over my arms and shoulders fascinated me. But I think I truly became a ferret convert the first time the I saw the humped-back, I-will-attack dance of a playful ferret.

The ferret currently in my care (technically belonging to my younger son Charlie) lives a dull life most of the time as he is an only ferret at the moment. But every day he gets out once or twice to bounce around the bathroom, a ferret-safe (well, relatively safe) spare bedroom, or even the front garden—all under very close supervision.

I’ve heard that some ferret owners have completely ferret-proofed rooms, where their little domestic weasels can romp at liberty for hours on end. I am unwilling to give over a whole room for a single ferret, so Nikolai spends most of his days in a 3-shelf, 2 x 3 x 4-foot-tall cage with double-level hammock. But, since ferrets can sleep upwards of 20 hours a day, I’m not worried that he feels dreadfully constrained.

We both enjoy his forays into the larger world immensely, though. Sometimes he’s attacking a ferret toy in the bathtub (he gets his high-jump exercise leaping in and out). Other days see him scurrying under bed and behind desk … or sniffing at interesting vermin smells in the front garden.

Truth to tell, Nikolai didn’t enjoy being outside at all when I first took him out. But since he wore a little ferret harness and I held the leash, he had no say in the matter. He still doesn’t like being out on short grass, but he has learned to quite enjoy “hunting” thedeep jungle that is my front garden.

Coming soon: Quirky pet names I have known, and More ferret fun.